


I'm Gone

by 100SleeplessNights



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Boys In Love, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Music, Roadtrip, Runaway Harry, Running Away, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 07:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4951240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100SleeplessNights/pseuds/100SleeplessNights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco has to get away from home because he feels like suffocating between his parents' dinner parties and charity galas. So he takes what he needs and drives away. Right at the beginning of his journey he meets the most peculiar guy and decides to get to know him better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this quite a while ago but always forgot to post it. I hope you like it. I only have the first chapter finished so far so should you have any suggestions what should happen please tell me.

_What if I just left,_

_What, what if I packed my bags,_

_And left this town_

_I up all sticks, sell what I have_

_And the only thing that’s left is a note on which I write_

_I’m gone_

_Gone, gone forever_

 

**Original:**

_Was wäre, wenn ich einfach geh_

_Was, was wäre, wenn ich meine sieben Sachen pack_

_Und verlasse diese Stadt_

_Alle meine Zelte breche ich ab, verkaufe was ich hab_

_Und das Einzige, was bleibt, ist ein Zettel, auf den ich schreib_

_Ich bin weg_

_Weg, weg für immer_

**_Silbermond –Weg für Immer_ **

_I have to get away from here_ was the first thought Draco had that morning. He felt imprisoned in his own home, like he would remain completely stuck in his life if he didn’t run away. He had never felt this caged in his whole life. The last time he had felt this alone was before he had come out to his parents as gay. They had taken it pretty good, he hadn’t been disowned they had just ordered him not to date anyone until he had moved out.

Yawning, he pulled his biggest bag out of his closet and threw in everything that was important. Then he wrote his parents a note saying that he would be away for a while and that they shouldn’t worry. After a small breakfast he put his bag and a mattress in his car and drove away to wherever the roads would take him.

It worked. He felt freer and freer with every mile he drove and every turn he took. Maybe he wouldn’t come back. Maybe he would fall in love with one of the cities he saw and get a flat there. Or rent a room in some village and spend the rest of his life having to drive half an hour to the next bigger city.

Around lunchtime he stopped at a small motorway station. The parking lot was completely deserted and upon entering the shabby diner he saw that only one other person sat at one of the cheap looking tables. Deciding that if he wanted new experiences he could very well start here he walked up to the table and knocked on it.

The boy looked up at him with the most magnificent green eyes he had ever seen.

“Yes?” he asked.

“May I sit here?”

The boy snickered, probably about Draco’s choice of words. Draco sighed internally. Finally someone who hadn’t grown up with a stick up his ass. Figuratively speaking, he wouldn’t have a problem with it if this fine specimen turned out to be interested in men.

“Sure. This place is depressing enough, company would be nice. I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Draco.” Draco replied and stretched his hand out for the boy – Harry – to take. Harry smiled at him – and damn was that smile attractive – and shook his hand.

Then Draco sat down opposite Harry and took a look at the small menu.

“So, how rich are your parents?” Harry asked as Draco had set the menu down again.

“Insanely rich. My father owns a football team.” Draco stated and delighted in Harry’s astonished look.

“Fuck.” Was the only thing Harry said.

“Yeah. Fuck. That’s definitely an appropriate reaction.”

The waitress interrupted them to take their orders.

“You’re a vegetarian?” Draco asked as he saw that Harry had ordered the only meat-free dish on the menu.

“No. I just don’t trust them with meat. That’s one of the first things you learn when you’re hitchhiking. Don’t order meat or fish or even mushrooms at cheap restaurants. I take it you haven’t been on the road that long?”

Draco shook his head. “No. I just left this morning.”

“This morning? From where?”

“Wiltshire. I just left them a note that I would not be home for a while. I bet my mom will call any minute now, demanding that I come back this instant.”

Harry snorted. “Little rich boy ran away from home and now his Mommy want him to come back. Boohoo. That’s _so_ sweet.”

“Oh shut up. What’s your story?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“And what if I do?” Draco demanded.

“Then I still wouldn’t tell you. Once you leave here you won’t even see me again, why should I tell you my life story? I don’t want the pity of the rich mommy boy, thank you very much.”

Before Draco could answer that, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and showed Harry the screen.

“I told you.”

He answered the call. “Yes, Mother?”

“Your father and I are very disappointed in you, Draco Lucius Malfoy! Leaving like this, without even properly telling us, this is not how we raised you!” his mother said in a deadly tone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye properly. But I had to get away from Wiltshire for a while.”

“Yes, Draco. Tell yourself whatever you want. If I were you, I’d come home this instant because your father is in a terrible mood and you don’t want to face his wrath.”

“I won’t. He gave me that car for my eighteenth birthday and told me I could do with it whatever I wanted to do. I wanted to get away from home with it. He shouldn’t complain, he should be happy that I’m using his birthday present.” Draco reasoned.

“It’s your decision, Draco. I just wanted to warn you. Your father will most likely call you once he’s finished with his work for today. Goodbye, Draco.”

“Goodbye, Mother.” Draco echoed as his mother had already hung up.

“Well that sounded like a healthy mother – son relationship.” Harry mocked.

“Yeah. My father’s the supportive one. When he calls he will probably just scold me because I just left a note and then continue to tell me that it’s my life and that I should do what I want to do and I better not dare to repeat his mistakes.”

“Do you often tell strangers your life story?” Harry asked

“No. Only pretty boys with incredibly green eyes and too many secrets.” Draco said smiling.

“Well, then you told the wrong person. I don’t have too many secrets; I have just the right amount of secrets.”

They stopped their conversation for a minute as the waitress brought their food.

“Well, in my opinion you have too many secrets and that’s all the validation I need to tell you my life story.” Draco said once the waitress had disappeared again.

“If you say so. I’m not complaining, just wondering.”

 

After they had finished their lunch and Draco had left a horrendous tip (Harry’s words), Harry shouldered his backpack and followed Draco to his car.

“Do you want to come?” Draco asked him, not ready to let go of their not-quite-relationship they had formed over lunch. “I can take you anywhere as long as it’s not close to Wiltshire.”

Harry laughed heartily. “How could I decline such a nice offer?”

“Well, you’d just have to say no and I’ll drive out of your life again, just like you said I would.”

“Prat! I changed my mind; I don’t want you out of my life just yet. I’m coming but you better have good music. The guy who took me here listened to Country, it was terrible.”

Together they heaved Harry’s backpack into the trunk of the car.

“What do you have in there? Bricks?” Draco complained.

“That backpack is my life.” Harry said. “In there is everything I own.”

“Fuck…” Draco muttered and climbed into the driver’s seat. Harry climbed in the passenger seat and began to go through Draco’s music collection while Draco started the car and drove onto the motorway again.

“You listen to Fall Out Boy?” Harry asked.

“Yep.”

“And Panic! At The Disco?”

“Yep.”

“And…”

“Do you really want to ask me whether I’m listening to all that stuff? Yes, I do. Now please decide on something, I can drive better with the music on.”

“Yes, rich boy.” Harry sighed and chose a song at random.

The Mighty Fall by Fall Out Boy started playing making Draco grin brightly.

“My phone simply loves me.” He stated and started singing along. His smile grew when Harry did, too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, after almost a year, I finally managed to finish the second chapter. I hope the next chapter won't take quite as long.

“So, what’s your favourite band?” Draco asked after an hour of driving into nothingness. Harry had sung along to several songs but Draco still wasn’t any closer to unravelling him than he had been in the diner. He figured music was as good a starting point as any to start trying to figure out the enigma that was Harry.

“Panic! At The Disco,” Harry said, not even hesitating. Well, that wasn’t one of his secrets then. Not that Draco had expected it to be. “Why would you ask?”

Draco smiled devilishly. “I want to figure you out, secret by little secret.”

“You will fail,” Harry predicted. “A lot of people tried that and none of them even know a fraction of me. But I’m still good friends with most of them.”

“And exactly how many of them know your favourite band?”

“I think there are quite a few more important things to know about a person than their favourite band,” Harry claimed, dodging the question.

“Such as?”

“Their favourite book, maybe? And isn’t having a good time with them a lot more important than knowing every last thing about them?”

“Maybe,” Draco allowed, smiling. He really enjoyed talking to Harry. “But I still intend to find out as much as possible about you.“

 

“Do you want to eat the best pizza in Britain?” Harry asked after a few more hours of driving. Draco smiled. He had just wanted to propose to make a stop to have dinner.

“Sure, why not?”

“I thought it might overwhelm your posh taste buds,” Harry teased with a smile. Draco found himself enjoying his humour more with every slightly funny thing he said. Not even his friends had ever managed to do that so far.

“I don’t think so. I had pizza way more often than I’d like to admit.”

“What, with caviar and truffle topping? I don’t think they serve that there.”

Draco chuckled. “Prat. I have you know that most of my friends aren’t from insanely rich families. And I’ve attended a fair share of parties where no one bothered to order special snob pizza just for me.”

“Alright. Then get off the motor way at the next exit and I’ll give you directions.”

 

“I’m allergic to caviar.” Draco stated once they sat in a cosy corner of what Harry had called the best pizza place north of Italy after they had placed their order.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m most definitely not. But don’t tell anyone. I want to keep the option _death by overpriced luxury seafood_ open and if people knew about it, it would ruin half the fun.”

Harry smirked. “Very well. And if I ever have to dispose of you, I will just take you to some outrageously expensive restaurant and order caviar for you. No one would suspect a thing. The perfect crime.”

Draco laughed out loud, earning them a few looks from the tables around them. “I like you, Harry. You’re really funny.”

 

When after dinner, Draco went back to his car, Harry was still following him.

“You still want to travel with me?” Draco asked, half expecting Harry to disagree but hoping he wouldn’t. Those few hours he had spent with Harry had been the most entertaining in his life so far. Despite knowing almost nothing about him, Draco had had a lot of fun and he wouldn’t mind spending as much time as possible with Harry, not only to unravel him but because he genuinely wanted to be his friend.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” Harry shrugged and Draco wondered how he managed that with the backpack on his shoulders that Draco knew was quite heavy. “You’re entertaining enough and the music is good.”

Draco chuckled. “That’s good. Maybe if I’m entertaining enough you’ll tell me more about yourself.”

“Dream on, rich boy,” Harry scoffed.

 

Their next stop was at a field full of blooming sunflowers. Draco had spotted it from the road and had found a small path next to it, just wide enough for his car, just ten minutes later. While he dug his camera out of his bag Harry already went to look at the flowers.

“How about making memories instead of taking pictures, rich boy?” Harry teased when he saw Draco carrying his camera.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to multi-task,” Draco assured him with a smile and hurried to take a picture of Harry in front of the sunflowers. He simply looked like he belonged there. Not necessarily next to a field of sunflowers but in nature. Draco realized that for the first time in the few hours they had known each other, Harry looked comfortable. He could easily picture him living in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere now, maybe raising some sheep.

 

Then, suddenly, lightning flashed through the sky, followed by loud thunder a few seconds later. Until then, Draco hadn’t even noticed that clouds had taken over the sky and the sun only shone through a small, fortunate hole in them.

Harry looked up into the sky and then shared a look with Draco. Together they hurried back to Draco’s car and climbed inside just as the rain started falling.

Draco tried to stick the key into the ignition. He hated thunderstorms and he hated driving during a thunderstorm even more but he wanted to get away from this place. It looked a little eerie without the sun shining.

A warm, dark hand covered his and pulled it away from the ignition.

“Don’t,” Harry said gently. “You really don’t look like you’re in a good enough state to drive. I’d rather we sit this out in here, it’s the safest place to be right now and I have to admit I’m not too fond of thunderstorms either.”

Draco scoffed. In his case _not fond_ was an understatement. He could rarely sleep during a thunderstorm. He was scared of them, more than he would ever admit. Only then did he realize that Harry had voluntarily told him something about himself. He couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Caught up on it, have you?” Harry teased. He grabbed Draco’s iPhone again and a minute later the soothing notes of Drive by Halsey flowed from the speakers. “Maybe I’ll tell you more tomorrow.”

Draco was surprised about that last statement. “Tomorrow? So that means you’re accompanying me a little longer?”

“Of course.” Harry chuckled. "I can’t turn my back on this excellent taste of music you have and I have to at least let you try to figure me out. I like giving other people a challenge. In addition to that, travelling with you is fun so far.”

“Sooner or later I will figure you out,” Draco promised. “Just you wait.”

 

When the rain started to lessen and the lightning and thunder grew further apart, Draco found that thunderstorms weren’t quite as frightening when he was with Harry. He was glad Harry would continue to travel with him and not only because he wanted to figure him out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took forever to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Thanks to [Emariia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Emariia) for motivating me to write hitchhiking!Harry again, this chapter is for you <3
> 
> I also made a Drarry playlist on Spotify called [How To Love Your Enemy](https://open.spotify.com/user/miss.sleepless/playlist/5aJSiaZDUgDOJXwuOlSFZb)

The next day, their first stop was a small café. While they had booked rooms at a hotel that offered breakfast the coffee they had was disgusting and Draco had decided to treat Harry to breakfast in the nearby city. After a five minute walk they found a small, cosy looking café that was just opening.

Harry greeted the waitress with a wave and a smile, giving Draco the distinct feeling he already knew her.

“That’s Luna,” Harry said when he noticed Draco’s questioning gaze. “She’s one of my best friends. And I have to admit, I kind of only recommended the hotel we were at and then proceeded to drag you here so I could maybe see her.”

Draco was taken aback – and admittedly a little hurt. He had hoped that Harry had decided to come with him because of him, not only because he wanted to go places. At least it had sounded like that when they had sat through the thunderstorm.

“No, that came out wrong. What I meant to say was that I hoped she would work today so I could introduce you,” Harry amended and Draco wasn’t quite sure whether he had seen Draco frown or had noticed how selfish he had sounded on his own. He wasn’t quite sure he really wanted to know.

Before he could dwell on it any longer, the waitress Harry had greeted – Luna – approached their table. It was quite an unusual name but Draco could see what might have inspired her parents to name her after the moon. It wasn’t her light skin or her bright eyes but the way she held herself, like she was convinced no one could ever know her completely, like the moon that astronauts had set foot on but that still remained mysterious.

“Are you ready to order?” she asked, her voice light as a summer breeze but Draco was sure it could turn to steel at a moment’s notice.

“I’ll have green tea with honey and a croissant, please,” Harry ordered when Draco didn’t speak for a few seconds.

“I’ll have the Café Mocha and the fruit salad, please.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco’s choice but didn’t say anything.

 

“Why green tea?” Draco asked after he had taken the first sip from his cup.

“Are you sure you want that to be today’s secret?” Harry asked back.

Draco didn’t take the bait. Instead he took a chance. “It isn’t a secret.”

Harry smiled at him. A smile that held hundreds of secrets but that showed this particular titbit hadn’t been one of them. “It could have been,” Harry said. “Or maybe it’s connected to a secret.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Draco decided.

Harry chuckled. “It’s one of the few luxuries I allow myself because I just don’t like the taste of black tea. Or coffee for that matter.”

Draco’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you even British?”

The chuckle transformed into a full-blown laugh. “Yes. I’m quite sure about that.”

 

After they had finished their breakfast and their plates had been cleared away, Luna came back to their table, but instead of her work clothes she now wore a pink dress with small turtles printed on it.

“I have a few hours off. Remus says he can handle the remaining breakfast guests, I just have to be back by noon,” she told Harry with a smile.

Harry’s answering smile was brighter than the morning sun. “Brilliant. Someone should give Remus an award for being the best employer of the century.” Harry then turned in Draco’s direction. “Do you want to get to know the city a little? Luna is an excellent tour guide.”

Harry sounded like he genuinely wanted Draco to accompany them so Draco found himself accepting the offer, even though he was concerned he would feel like a third wheel.

 

Draco soon noticed he needn’t have worried. Both Harry and Luna included him in their conversation effortlessly, no matter the topic. They talked about anything and everything, about animal cruelty and Luna’s current crush, a cute boy who frequented the café, about GCSEs and the best snack to eat while reading.

When Luna said goodbye to them at a quarter to noon Draco realized he had learned a lot more about Harry in the last few hours than he had during all of their conversations the day before.

“You learn a lot about me today, it seems,” Harry pointed out. He had apparently noticed as well how much more open he was around Luna than around Draco. He didn’t seem to be bothered about it though so Draco guessed nothing he had learned had been a particularly well-kept secret.

“I intend to find out even more,” Draco warned him with a teasing smile.

“Is that so?” Harry teased back. “Go on then.”

“How did you meet Luna?” Draco asked. He had wondered about this ever since Harry had introduced him to her.

“Believe it or not but it was quite similar to how you met her. Another friend of mine, Ginny, went to school with Luna and introduced me to her when we were celebrating her graduation at Remus’s café.” Harry smiled fondly at the memory and Draco found himself wishing Harry would smile like that when he thought about him.

 

It was already dark outside when they arrived back at the hotel that night and Draco fell into his bed exhausted but with a wide smile on his face. He’d had so much fun; it didn’t even bother him that Harry hadn’t told him another one of his secrets.

 

Luna had told them she would be working the afternoon shift at the café so they just bought sandwiches at a bakery close to the hotel before they left the city again.

“Where do you want to go next?” Harry asked after they had aimlessly driven through the British countryside for almost an hour.

Draco shrugged with one shoulder. “My only requirement for possible destinations is still _away from Wiltshire_.”

Harry chuckled. “I’m getting the impression you’re not good at making decisions.”

Draco shook his head with a rueful smile. “That’s not it. I just don’t care where I go as long as it’s not back home.” _And as long as you’re with me_ , Draco added in the privacy of his own mind. It had only been two days so far but he had already gotten used to Harry being in his life, traveling with him, and he dreaded the day their paths would inevitably diverge.

Harry laughed heartily. “You sound like a moody teenager. ‘I don’t care where I go as long as I get away from my parents.’ Are you sure you’re old enough to drive?”

Draco frowned. He was glad he hadn’t voiced his earlier thought. Harry probably would’ve made fun of that as well. He slowed the car and stopped at the side of the road before he answered. “You try living with a mother who accepts your sexuality as long as you don’t mention it anywhere near her and don’t start dating until you’ve moved out.”

The following silence was beyond uncomfortable and long seconds ticked by until Harry broke it.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

“So you’re…” Harry hesitated, probably so he wouldn’t mess up again.

“Gay as a rainbow, yes,” Draco confirmed.

“I still owe you yesterday’s secret,” Harry said after another minute of silence. Draco was simultaneously confused and relieved about the subject change. While he was completely comfortable with his sexuality he’d rather not think about it in relation to his mother more often or thoroughly than absolutely necessary.

“What about it?” he asked when Harry didn’t elaborate further.

“I’m bisexual.”

_Oh_. So it wasn’t a subject change after all. Draco couldn’t help it, he started laughing and it didn’t take long for Harry to join in. The situation was just too absurd.

“Does anyone else in this car want to come out?” he gasped out between bursts of laughter. “It seems like now would be the right time to do so.”

“That felt good,” Harry said once his laughter had lessened to occasional chuckles. Draco had to agree. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed this hard while he was sober.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the most infrequently updated story ever. I hope some people still read and enjoy this.

_Harry is bisexual_. Draco was lying on a comfortable bed in a spacious hotel room in a city he had already forgotten the name of and thought about Harry’s latest secret for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Now that he knew it, he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know. It made being with Harry a possibility, yes, but it also made Harry rejecting him an equally possible outcome. He had met Harry only a few days ago but he already had an undeniable crush on him and that second option scared him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He opened the door and found himself face to face with the object of his thoughts – not that he had expected anyone else.

“Hey.” Harry smiled crookedly. “For once you don’t look impeccable, I’m surprised.”

Draco’s hand instantly moved to his hair to smooth it down. He should’ve known lying on a bed, no matter how comfortable, would mess with his hair. Harry’s smile just widened. “Don’t worry, you look good either way.”

To his displeasure a blush spread on Draco’s cheeks. Usually he could just shrug off the compliments he got, he had to or he would be walking through life constantly blushing. Harry’s compliment was different, though, because unlike all of the friends and acquaintances of his parents he actually wanted Harry to like him.

“Thank you,” he said because even flustered he still remembered his manners.

“You’re welcome. But to be honest, I wasn’t here to compliment you.”

When Harry didn’t elaborate further, Draco raised an eyebrow.

“What? It’s the truth. I was about to head out and explore the city and I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come. Your ego is big enough as it is, I don’t need to feed it intentionally like that.”

“Alright, lead the way, then.”

 

On their way into the city Harry didn’t say anything and Draco had to admit he really appreciated the silence. It was a good sign when he could not only have meaningful discussions and mindless conversations with someone but also share comfortable silences with them.

“Let’s go in here!” Draco would never admit it to anyone but he jumped when Harry spoke for the first time in minutes. Harry had stopped in front of a used bookstore. Draco just shrugged and followed him inside.

“I missed this,” Harry said and Draco couldn’t help but notice how much he relaxed the second he stepped over the threshold to the store. His shoulders slumped visibly and his whole frame slackened a little. Draco wondered if maybe bookstores or libraries were Harry’s safe spaces.

“Are you in the mood for a scavenger hunt?” Harry asked when Draco had caught up to him.

“A scavenger hunt?”

“Yes.” Harry turned and smiled at Draco. “We each search for a book the other might like and we meet back here in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, that sounds like it could be fun,” Draco decided. He was quite confident he could find a book Harry would like even though he had just known him for a few days.

Five minutes later Draco wasn’t as confident anymore. There were just so many books to choose from and most of the synopses he’d read so far had been quite boring in his opinion.

Just as he sighed while reading the fifth synopsis about an assassin main character, Harry crossed his path and laughed out loud.

“Are you already giving up?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Never. I’m just wondering how there can be so many underage assassins in young adult literature.”

Harry pretended to be shocked. “You mean to tell me you aren’t an assassin?”

Draco shot him a teasing smile. “Not yet.”

 

After ten more minutes of searching and the occasional eye roll Draco had finally found a book Harry might like. Harry had let slip that he usually rooted for the villains instead of the heroes and Draco had found the perfect book for that.

It was about two friends turned enemies with super powers. The book started out with one of them getting out of prison after ten years and seeking revenge. The synopsis intrigued him as well so he grabbed a second copy for himself. Maybe, if Harry continued to accompany him, they could read it at the same time and talk about it.

Happy with his choice he looked for Harry and finally found him in the adult thriller section. He wondered what Harry was doing there since he had never even expressed an interest in thrillers but then he saw Harry was already carrying three books, so maybe one of them was the one meant for Draco.

He didn’t want to interrupt Harry’s seemingly very intense browsing so he just sat down on the floor a few feet away from him and opened one of the books to have a closer look at what he had chosen for Harry. It was good. In fact it was so immersive that he jumped a little – not that he would admit to that - when Harry addressed him a few minutes later.

Harry smiled at him sheepishly. “Sorry… Are you done?”

“Yes. I just had to check if the inside was as good as the outside promised,” Draco explained truthfully and got up from the floor again rather inelegantly which earned him another smile from Harry. He decided he had to be awkward more often if it made Harry smile like that.

“And?” Harry asked when Draco had found his footing again. “Did it deliver?”

Draco smiled at him. “Yes. It even exceeded my expectations. In fact, I’m glad I picked up a second copy for myself.”

Harry’s amused smile turned plain happy. “That is always the best experience. But before you continue reading that you have to at least look at the book I picked for you.”

“Show me, then. Or do I have to pick one of the four books you got?”

Harry shook his head and laughed. Draco had to admit, he really liked making Harry laugh, it was so much better than a simple smile, and maybe he was also a little relieved he wouldn’t have to make a fool out of himself to get a positive reaction from Harry. “No. I just thought we should pay first.”

“Yes, right.” Now it was Draco’s turn to smile sheepishly.

Together they walked back to the front of the store and toward the counter. Not able to wait for his reaction, Draco handed Harry his book the second they had both paid.

Harry smiled at him again. It seemed like he wasn’t doing anything but ever since he had found Draco sitting on the floor leaning against one of the Thriller shelves. “Eager, are we?”

“Yes, very,” Draco said and though he tried his best he couldn’t help the bright blush spreading on his cheeks.

“Alright, let’s see what you chose.” Harry didn’t stop walking when he read the synopsis on the back of the book and Draco was impressed when he didn’t run into any people the whole time his eyes were glued to the book.

“This sounds amazing,” he finally said. “How did you find this?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if you know about this but there are these two balls in my head that I use to see.”

Harry shoved him lightly. “Prat.”

 

After they spent another hour in the city they walked back to their hotel.

“Do you want to come to my room for a while? I can make us tea;” Draco offered when they reached their floor.

“You do remember I don’t drink English Breakfast Tea, right?” Harry asked.

“Yes. Let me rephrase this. Do you want to come to my room for a while? I can make us green tea.”

Harry smiled. “Better. But I’d rather take care of the tea myself. Should I make a cup for you as well?”

“That’d be great. I have no experience with green tea whatsoever,” Draco admitted. He had always been curious about it though.

“In that case, I have to teach you.”

While they were talking they had arrived at Draco’s room. Draco took out his key, unlocked the door and then let Harry enter first. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Harry nodded but instead of sitting down he went to the little kitchen nook in the corner of the room and set out to make them tea. Not one to watch when other people worked for him - he usually left with a book when the house maid came into his room to clean - Draco joined Harry and let him explain the intricacies of brewing green tea.

When the tea was done and Draco had been introduced to the art of tea making a few minutes later they both took a mug of tea and sat down on the two arm chairs standing around a small table. Draco already wanted to continue reading the book he had gotten Harry but Harry took the book out of his hands.

“First, you have to look at the book I found for you.”

Draco blushed again. “Yes, right. Sorry.”

Harry handed him a quite thin red paperback.

“What’s this about?” Draco asked, intrigued by the illustration on the front.

“A gay guy who’s in the closet but has this online relationship with another guy who goes to his school. It’s very cute, I read it in one sitting when I found it like a year ago.”

Draco smirked. “Is _this_ your favourite book?”

“I have to disappoint you, secret hunter,” Harry said with a smile. “It’s not my favourite but it’s definitely up there.”

Draco pouted but just a few pages into the book he could feel his smile reappearing. Harry was right, apart from the blackmailing subplot it _was_ cute. When he looked up after a few chapters he saw Harry had started reading the book Draco had chosen for him and seemed pretty engrossed in it. Satisfied, Draco went back to reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two books mentioned really exist. The one about supervillains is Vicious by V. E. Schwab and the one with the online relationship is Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.
> 
> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this only took about a month to write :o. I hope you enjoy.

“You still haven’t asked me about today’s secret,” Harry said suddenly after about half an hour of quiet reading. Draco held up his hand to show he had heard him and only looked up after he had finished the chapter he had been in the middle of.

“I haven’t,” Draco confirmed when he remembered Harry’s bisexuality had technically been yesterday’s secret. “Do you want to tell me one now?”

Harry shook his head. “You can ask me one question, whatever you want. If what you ask about is not a secret, I’ll choose one to tell you.”

Draco’s eyes widened with surprise. He definitely hadn’t expected that, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “All right, this could be interesting. I think I already have a question.”

Harry smirked at him and leaned back in his chair. “I hope you won’t ask about my favourite book.”

Draco shook his head and chuckled. “No. That would just be wasting a perfectly good free question.”

“Ask away, then,” Harry encouraged him. He sounded quite confident. Either he thought Draco wouldn’t be able to figure out one of his secrets with just one question or he just didn’t care what Draco found out about him. Judging by his behaviour during the last few days it was most likely the former. Draco hoped he could exceed Harry’s expectations.

“I saw you wear a necklace earlier today. Does it have a special meaning?”

Harry’s eyes widened and his whole body went rigid. Draco wanted to smile because this definitely was a secret but he only felt bad. He had just opened his mouth to take the question back when Harry answered.

“It was my mother’s,” he said, his face a controlled mask. “It’s the only thing I have from her.” He didn’t even wait for Draco’s reaction before he got up and stormed out of the room, the book he had been reading still lying on the table.

 

“Fuck!” Draco exclaimed when the sound of the door slamming shut had stopped echoing in his head. He had really fucked up. But he couldn’t have known the necklace meant so much to Harry, could he? Yes, it had been hidden underneath his shirt for the last few days and had only slipped out when Harry had leaned down to look at a book on the bottom shelf at the bookstore but that didn’t immediately mean it was connected to his Tragic BackstoryTM, did it?

“Fuuuuck,” he moaned again, this time with more feeling. They had gotten along so well, Harry had even offered him a free question to find out one of his secrets and Draco had ruined it by finding what seemed to be one of Harry’s most well-kept secrets. He needed to apologize to Harry as soon as possible or he would most likely be gone and Draco would never find him again.

He was sure Harry didn’t want to see him anytime soon and he wasn’t quite sure whether he was ready to face him either, so he pulled open one of the drawers he had looked through after they had checked in and took a piece of paper with the hotel logo out of it. On it he wrote his apology.

 

_Dear Harry,_

_I’m sorry for asking such a personal question. I thought the necklace was a trinket from a significant other or something along those lines. Had I known how sensible the topic is, I wouldn’t have asked. I hope you can forgive me and we can at least stay in contact if you don’t want to travel with me any longer._

_Draco_

 

Draco added his mobile number and his email address underneath the note so Harry could contact him in case he decided to continue his journey without Draco and then tucked it between the pages of the book Harry had put on the table facedown.

After a few minutes of sitting around and doing nothing Draco decided he didn’t want to stay in his room and mope for the rest of the day so he took Harry’s books, including the one he had bought for Harry, placed them outside the door to Harry’s room and then left the hotel again, hoping he could distract himself at least until dinner.

He gave up trying not to think about Harry when he spotted the used bookstore they had been in earlier. It was the only thing that had caught his interest so far and that only because it had a connection to Harry. Draco just couldn’t stop thinking about him, how comfortable he had looked browsing through the bookstore and how hurt he had sounded when he had told Draco about the meaning of his necklace earlier.

Draco had wandered through the inner city for about two hours when he decided not to go back to the hotel for dinner, not only because by that time he was hopelessly lost but also because he wasn’t sure whether he could stomach seeing Harry again quite yet. He found a small restaurant in a quiet side alley just a few minutes after he had made his decision and sat down inside.

The waiter who served him was nice but he definitely wasn’t Harry and the food was good too, most likely better than what he would have gotten at the hotel but he still couldn’t really enjoy it because he was missing Harry. _Fuck_ , he thought when he realized what that meant. Somewhere along the way he had developed a crush on Harry and by now he really had it bad.

 

Once he had finished his dinner and left a more than generous tip, Draco decided to not even pretend to know where he was and opened Google Maps on his phone to find the fastest way back to the hotel. He arrived there about half an hour later and decided to just go to his room and spend the rest of the night watching TV or reading one of the books he had gotten with Harry earlier – probably just watching TV, he didn’t need anything else to remind him of Harry tonight.

Speaking of Harry – when Draco reached the floor his and Harry’s rooms were on, he saw Harry sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall between their respective rooms. He instantly wanted to leave again but Harry had already spotted him.

“Draco! Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Draco swallowed. This was exactly what he had tried to avoid but now avoidance wasn’t an option any longer. He took a deep breath and invited Harry into his room for the second time that day. So much for his evening plans.

“First of all, I accept your apology, even though it wasn’t really necessary,” Harry said after he had sat down on one of the armchairs again. “I’m the one who should apologize for just running out on you.”

To say Draco was surprised by Harry’s apology was an understatement. Apparently the few days he knew Harry weren’t nearly enough to be able to gauge his reactions.

“It’s all right. I think I can understand why you did,” he assured Harry when he had gotten his voice back.

“You can?” Harry seemed surprised.

“I think so, yes. We all have secrets we don’t want to share with anyone and I have a feeling this is one of yours.”

Harry nodded. “That sounds about accurate. You and most of my other friends don’t even know why I ran away but that secret is by far not as well kept as everything connected to this necklace.”

“Your other friends? Does that mean you see me as a friend as well?” Draco asked. He had thought of Harry as a friend almost as soon as he had sat down in his car but so far he hadn’t gotten the impression that Harry considered him a friend as well.

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” Harry asked bewildered. “I don’t tend to spend hours walking around towns with strangers or acquaintances.”

Draco decided to tell him the truth. Harry had shared one of his most well-kept secrets with him, the least he could do was to be honest. “Well, I remember you telling me that once I left the motorway station I would never see you again. That kind of gave me the impression that you just considered me and my car a convenient way to get around.”

“No, I said that for… other reasons,” Harry said. Draco could have spotted _that_ secret from a mile away.

“Secret reasons?” he teased.

Harry smiled at him. “Yes, secret reasons. But believe me, neither you nor your car are just convenient to me. I think I’ve said this before but I enjoy your company and your taste in music isn’t bad either. At this point in time you’d have to be a colossal asshole for me to just up and leave, so you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll probably stay with you until you tell me to leave.”

Harry tried to sound casual but Draco got the feeling that parting ways was the last thing Harry wanted right now. That would probably change once Draco accidentally showed him how much of a colossal asshole he could really be. He didn’t tell Harry that though. He didn't want to discourage him from traveling with him.

“I really enjoy your company as well so I don’t think I will tell you to leave any time soon,” he said instead and revelled in the small smile that appeared on Harry’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this took me so long to write. I hope you enjoy.

The next day while they were eating dinner, as though he had forgotten what had happened the day before, Harry offered Draco another question. This time, because he wanted to play it safe, Draco asked about Harry’s favourite book, not which it was, that would still be a wasted question, but what exactly made it Harry’s favourite.

“You know you don’t have to tiptoe around my bigger secrets, right?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Draco shrugged. He did know that, in a way. He knew Harry wouldn’t say _anything_ if he didn’t mean _literally_ anything. But he feared Harry would run away, if Draco found another of his most well-guarded secrets.

Harry rolled his eyes. “I guess I can’t make you ask more risqué questions, that would defeat the purpose of these questions, so maybe we can make a deal, if you’re so intent on not hurting my feelings.”

“A deal?” Draco was surprised. Harry didn’t strike him as the kind of person who often made deals and this was the second one he offered Draco.

“Yes, a deal. It seems to be the best course of action in this situation because I’m sure I would be bored in no time, if every question you asked me had to do with my favourite book.”

Draco winced a little at the obvious callout. “What would this deal entail?” he asked when Harry didn’t elaborate.

“It’s simple. You would ask me whatever you wanted to, no holding back and in turn I could refuse to answer the question when I’m not ready to, but I would answer it eventually and of course give you a different secret for that day.”

“All right,” Draco decided after a few seconds of consideration. “That sounds fair. I won’t change my question for today, though.”

Harry smiled at him. “Fair enough, but I have to disappoint you. There’s no secret reason behind my favourite book earning its spot. I’ll tell you a real secret later today.”

 

They were already sitting in Draco’s car and were on their way to another town they could stop in when Harry turned down the volume of the music and told Draco another of his many secrets.

“I love hearing stories. I could just sit and listen to someone tell me their life story or maybe just a few anecdotes for hours.”

“So you prefer true stories?” Draco asked.

Harry shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. But when people want to tell me about their life I prefer it when the stories are at least believable. I can’t check whether they’re true anyway.”

“I have to admit, I’m curious. Why do you keep that a secret? Or is that a secret as well?”

Harry chuckled. “No, that isn’t a secret. But I don’t have a real reason, either or at least not anymore. Back in primary school the children said hearing stories before falling asleep was for babies so I never told anyone I liked hearing stories then, but I don’t know why I continued to keep it to myself after that phase.”

Draco shrugged. “Probably the same reason. I never told anyone I like taking care of the peacocks our family owns after another child called me pathetic farmer’s boy.”

“I don’t think you’re pathetic,” Harry said with an amused smile on his lips.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Thanks, it means a lot.”

“You’re welcome. Now, tell me about those peacocks of yours. That way I can hear a story and you can talk about your treasured peacocks, farmer’s boy.”

“I’m not quite sure whether farmer’s boy is better than rich boy or worse,” Draco grumbled but still started talking about his father’s prized white peacocks.

 

They reached the town Harry had chosen when Draco had asked him where to go after lunch in the late afternoon. This time Harry had told Draco upfront that he had chosen it because one of his best friends, Ginny, currently lived and went to university there. Harry also volunteered he’d been in a relationship with Ginny for a few weeks during the last summer and Draco wasn’t quite sure whether he should be jealous of her because of that.

When Harry and Ginny shared a short hug as they met, Draco decided he probably shouldn’t but couldn’t help feeling a little itch of jealousy.

“This is Draco,” Harry introduced him. “I’ve travelled with him the last few days.”

 _Four days_ , Draco thought, because yes, he had counted. It had felt much longer but it had only been four days since he had escaped from home and found a cute runaway in a motorway restaurant.

“It is nice to meet you, Draco,” Ginny said with a wide smile and hugged him just as enthusiastically as she had Harry. “Do you want to come in or should I show you around the town a little first?”

“I have seen so many towns in the last few days, I think I’m ready for an afternoon inside,” Harry said. “Maybe we can check out the nightlife tonight. You said you found a great gay bar the last time we talked.”

“Yes, we definitely should. You will love some of the names they gave their drinks,” Ginny agreed, looking over her shoulder as she led them up the stairs towards her flat.

“Better than ‘Blowjob’?” Harry asked with a devilish smile on his face.

“Ohh, much better. You’ll see. Welcome to my humble abode.” Ginny opened a door on the second floor and welcomed them inside. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

Draco had never been able to feel completely comfortable in other people’s houses so he just followed Harry to the living room that was separated from the kitchen only by a line of counters. Harry sat down in the only armchair so Draco reluctantly sat on the couch standing at an angle to it. Ginny joined him on the couch just a few minutes later carrying a tray with tea.

“So, Draco, before I ask you how you take your tea, I assume you’re queer too considering you didn’t complain about going to a gay bar?”

Harry looked at Draco and raised an eyebrow. Draco gave a small nod. He didn’t mind people knowing he was gay so if Harry wanted to tell Ginny, Draco would let him do the honours.

“I think the phrase he used was _gay as a rainbow_ ,” Harry said with a smile.

“Then you’ll fit right in here,” Ginny said. “I’m bi, in case you were wondering.”

Draco had indeed wondered about that, but thought it would be inappropriate to ask.

“She also has a giant crush on Luna…” Harry started only to be interrupted by Ginny.

“I don’t!” she protested.

“…which she is still in denial about,” Harry concluded and took a sip from his tea.

“Luna is nice, I think I would have a crush on her as well, if I weren’t quite so gay,” Draco admitted.

“Everyone who knows her has a crush on Luna, let’s be real,” Harry said, by now smiling like the cat that got the cream.

“What?” Ginny exclaimed scandalized.

Harry shrugged and tried to look innocent. “I don’t make the rules.”

“Excuse me, gentlemen, I have to make an important phone call.” Ginny got up and left the room.

Once the door had fallen shut behind Ginny Harry started laughing. Draco had to smile as well. Their whole conversation had been fun to witness and take part in but the conclusion took the cake.

“If I had known it would be this easy to get her to admit to her crush, I would’ve done it ages ago,” Harry said when he had gotten his laughter under control again.

“I’m glad you did it now,” Draco said. “It was very entertaining to witness.”

Harry chuckled. “Believe me, it would have been much more entertaining, not to mention fulfilling if you had known Ginny, Luna and me for longer already. I’ve waited months for one of them to finally get their shit together. I hope our bar plans still stand though, and Ginny won’t be on the phone with Luna the whole night.”

Draco just wanted to offer the two of them could go without Ginny when the door opened and Ginny re-entered the room.

“Of course our bar plans still stand,” Ginny said and approached Harry. “Luna says thank you.”

Harry chuckled and let Ginny kiss his cheek. Draco couldn’t smother the small stab of jealousy he felt again at their casual intimacy.

“And what do _you_ say?” Harry asked when Ginny had sat down next to Draco again.

“Thank you, asshole.”

Harry smirked. “I expected nothing less.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter! There are exciting things happening!

It was still light out when Harry, Draco and Ginny left the flat again and walked a few blocks until they reached the bar Ginny had praised so highly. It was located in a small building that looked old and a little run down and was dwarfed by its direct neighbours. Draco knew he wouldn’t have entered or even found it on his own but when he followed Ginny inside and immediately felt welcome in the warm, friendly atmosphere he was grateful she had taken him and Harry with her.

After Draco’s eyes had taken in all the queer memorabilia strewn around the bar his gaze snapped back to Ginny who was now standing at the bar and exchanging a weird handshake with the barkeeper.

Not knowing what else to do, Draco went to the bar as well and heard Harry follow a few steps behind him. Ginny had most likely heard him approach or seen him in her peripheral vision because when he reached the bar she immediately introduced him to the barkeeper.

“Alyssa, she/her,” the barkeeper introduced herself with a smile and held her tattooed hand out to him. Draco gave her a smile of his own and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You know Harry of course,” Ginny added when Harry reached the bar as well.

Alyssa smiled brightly at Harry and once again Draco had to push down his jealousy. “Evening, Harry,” she said.

“Alyssa,” he greeted her. “I didn’t know you worked at a bar.”

Alyssa shrugged. “It’s a fairly recent development and it’s not like I could just send you a text to invite you for a drink.”

Harry looked slightly guilty at her call-out but still said, “I like it better like this.”

Alyssa gave him a warm smile. “I know. And I don’t blame you. Sometimes I wish I could live like you do. Now, I heard there’s been a development that’s way more interesting than me becoming a barkeeper. First round on the house for Luna’s girlfriend and her two friends.”

Ginny blushed, which clashed terribly with her ginger hair. “Announce it through the speakers, why don’t you?” she complained.

Alyssa’s eyes lit up. “Can I? I’m sure at least half the people here have rooted for you ever since you brought over Luna a few months ago.”

Ginny thought about it for a few seconds, Draco guessed it was to calculate whether the amount of free drinks she might get was worth the attention she would garner. Or at least that was what he would do in her situation.

“You can do it,” she decided. “ _If_ we get _two_ rounds on the house.”

Alyssa chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain. Two rounds on the house it is, then.” She took out a microphone from behind the bar, switched it on and said, “Family, friends, I have amazing news.”

In his peripheral vision Draco could see several heads turn in the direction of the various speakers spaced throughout the bar.

“My good friend Ginny Weasley here, many of you know her, has finally found the guts to ask out one Luna Lovegood today. What do you think Luna said?”

“Yes!” the other patrons in the bar roared.

“That’s right!” Alyssa exclaimed. “Such an achievement has to be celebrated, don’t you think?”

Once again there were shouts of “Yes!”

Alyssa smiled brightly. “I hear you. For an hour all Sapphic drinks are twenty percent off!”

It only took seconds for a line to form of people who wanted to congratulate Ginny and then snatch one of the discounted drinks.

Draco still had one question however. “What does Sapphic mean?” he asked Alyssa while she was mixing the first of many drinks.

“Oh, you don’t know?” she asked.

“He’s still innocent. I think this is the first time he’s in a queer space.” Harry said with a big smile.

Draco blushed under the sudden attention. It wasn’t a bad kind of attention, more understanding than surprised or annoyed but it still didn’t feel good being thrust into the spotlight like that.

“Don’t worry, we’ve all been there,” Alyssa assured him. “Sapphic is the umbrella term for women who love women, my precious baby gay. And this, for example, is one of our Sapphic drinks and also my specialty, Sappho’s Bride.” She handed him a violently pink drink.

Draco smiled. He felt safe here. Safe enough, he decided, to have a few drinks with strangers and almost-strangers – and Harry of course, who deserved a category of his own in Draco’s head.

“To Ginny and Luna,” Alyssa said after she had made drinks for Harry and Ginny as well, addressing the whole room. “May they be happy and queer and disgustingly cute together for a long time.”

Draco joined the chorus of “To Ginny and Luna,” and took a sip of his drink. It was sweet but not unpleasantly so and the taste of strawberry and cherry mixed well with whatever alcohol was in the drink.

 

“Do you want to talk about your lack of queer experiences?” Alyssa asked Draco when the Gay Hour was over, and Draco was pleasantly tipsy after his two free drinks.

“Not really,” Draco mumbled into his empty glass. He was happy right now, he didn’t even want to think about his mother, not to mention talk about her.

Part of him expected Alyssa to continue prodding so he was relieved when she didn’t. Instead she took a scrap of paper, wrote something on it and handed it to Draco. “Here’s my number in case you ever want to talk about it or anything else really.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smile and put the scrap of paper in his pocket, certain he wouldn’t be successful if he tried to put her number into his phone now.

 

The next morning Draco woke up to the sound of an unfamiliar voice and it took him a few minutes to remember where he was and that the voice was Ginny’s and familiar after all. He slowly opened his eyes and saw her pace around her flat with a phone pressed to her ear, unaware that he was now awake. He just wanted to make her aware of it when he heard her say his name which made him decide to listen in on her call instead.

“- the same one, Luna. Harry even said they’d travelled together already for a few days.”

Draco was confused by the sentence fragment but decided to continue listening, guessing it could only get clearer from there.

“Never?” Ginny asked after Luna had given her an answer that was inaudible to Draco. “Colour me surprised. Do you think Harry changed his behaviour because of Draco?”

Draco was still confused. How had Harry changed his behaviour? And why would Draco be the reason for it?

“Well, judging by the way Draco looked at Harry last night when Alyssa asked him whether he had a boyfriend, Draco is definitely interested in Harry at least,” Ginny said after what Draco guessed was another argument from Luna’s side.

Had he really been that obvious? Or was Ginny just that perceptive? It could have been both, he’d already been comfortably tipsy at that point and that tended to make his actions more telling than he was comfortable with sober. He didn’t have more time to think about it because Ginny was speaking again, and he still needed a little more information to figure out what they were talking about.

“Do you think he would do that?”

Who would do what? What were they talking about? Were they still talking about him and Harry or about someone else? He knew how fast Luna could change topics, he had witnessed it first-hand. Draco started to regret listening in. Only hearing half of the conversation made him unnecessarily nervous.

Ginny nodded her head to whatever Luna had said. “You’re right. I will kick his ass if he does, though. Draco seems like the kind of person who respects others’ boundaries as long as they tell him where they are. He doesn’t deserve to be dumped just because Harry was too stubborn to tell him he felt uncomfortable.”

_Oh_. So, they were still talking about him and Harry. And, apparently, they thought Harry was interested in him as well or they wouldn’t talk about Harry dumping him. Draco didn’t quite know how to deal with that, even if it was just an assumption, so he pushed it to the back of his mind before he opened his eyes and started moving to make Ginny think he was just waking up.

“Good morning, Draco,” Ginny said after she had ended the phone call with a smile in her voice that told Draco she knew he had been awake for a while already. He smiled sheepishly.

“Good morning, Ginny. Do conversations between you and your girlfriend often revolve around other people’s love lives?”

“Not at all,” Ginny assured him still smiling. “Don’t worry, Draco, you’re special.”

“Aww, you’re too sweet.”

“Ginny, sweet?” Draco heard Harry say. He sat up and spotted him standing in the doorway. “Only with a big helping of sarcasm or alcohol.”

Draco shot him a grin. “Naturally.”

“What were you talking about?” Harry asked.

“Nothing,” Draco said at the same time as Ginny said, “Your mutual attraction.”

Harry laughed at that, but it wasn’t mocking or even cruel like Draco had expected it to be. Instead it was warm and – dare he even think it – affectionate. “Was I really that obvious?” Harry asked which was as much of a confirmation of his feelings as Draco needed to feel incredibly warm inside.

“Well, you don’t change your routine for just anyone,” Ginny pointed out.

Harry shrugged but even Draco knew it wasn’t as casual as it looked. “Draco offered.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “Other people offered before and you still jumped out of their car as soon as it stopped, never to be seen again.”

“It has to be my impeccable taste in music,” Draco joked and was rewarded with a warm chuckle from Harry.

“That definitely played a part in it,” Harry confirmed. “Should I make breakfast, Ginny, or is there once again nothing edible in your kitchen?”

“That was one time!” Ginny complained.

“Yes, and that was enough for me to never let you forget about it.” Harry teased with a smirk.

Ginny groaned. “Draco, never get between this guy and his breakfast. It will most likely end bloody.”

Draco chuckled. “Noted. Can I help with breakfast, Harry?”

Harry looked at him surprised. “I had no idea learning to cook breakfast was part of your etiquette training.”

Draco shrugged like it hadn’t taken him two years to even be allowed to set foot into their kitchen. “Our cook likes me.”

Harry chuckled. “I don’t believe you. I’m pretty sure your cook only likes whatever you’re bribing them with.”

“The only things I use to bribe are my superior cooking skills,” Draco boasted.

“We’ll see about that,” Harry said and waved a hand to indicate Draco should follow him to the kitchen.

Draco did but when he passed Ginny she held him by his sleeve just long enough to whisper, “You’re so smitten.”

“I know,” he whispered back, almost comfortable with his feelings for Harry now that he knew at least the attraction was mutual.

In the kitchen Draco discovered that his and Harry’s approach to cooking was completely different but their skills were well matched. Between Harry’s ability to scrounge together a meal from the few things they found in Ginny’s fridge and Draco’s knowledge about spices and herbs they managed to put together a decent breakfast.

After breakfast, two tight hugs for Draco and Harry and a whispered “Go get him, tiger!” for Draco from Ginny, Draco and Harry got into Draco’s car again and Draco gave Harry his phone to choose their next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while but the next chapter is finally done and very long, so I hope you like it!

“Was your attraction to me today’s secret?” Draco asked when they had been on the road for about an hour.

Harry shook his head. “I never wanted to keep that a secret. Today’s secret is a place rather than a fact and you’re currently driving us there.”

Draco smiled. He couldn’t deny he was excited to see what Harry wanted to show him. “I’m intrigued.”

 

They arrived at their destination another hour later after Harry had navigated them through a seemingly endless forest for the last ten minutes of their journey. During that time Draco’s excitement had waned a little because he couldn’t imagine anything exciting being hidden in a forest, at least not in the real world, but he was still hopeful Harry would be able to surprise him once again.

“Come on, it’s this way,” Harry said after he had gotten out of the car, sounding way too excited for Draco’s liking, and walked into the underbrush right in front of Draco’s parked car.

“Couldn’t you have warned me we would be running through a forest before I got dressed this morning?” Draco complained but still followed Harry.

“I couldn’t have,” Harry said over his shoulder, not sounding apologetic in the least. “I only decided to show you this a few minutes before we left.”

That comment made Draco raise his eyebrows. Had Harry needed to think about sharing this specific secret with Draco because he’d thought of several that morning and had trouble choosing one of them or was it another of Harry’s closely guarded secrets that he had only decided to share with Draco after an internal debate? He hoped he would find out.

A few minutes later they stepped into a clearing and Draco thought he knew why Harry had chosen to keep this place a secret. It held the kind of raw beauty one didn’t share with just anyone. The clearing was dominated by a lake that looked like it was taken straight out of a dream. The water was completely clear, so Draco could see to the ground and it was surrounded by almost knee-high grass that seemed completely untouched aside from a narrow path that most likely led around the whole lake. Harry had definitely managed to surprise him once again.

“How did you find this place?” Draco asked when he had looked his fill.

Harry shook his head and shot him a small smile. “I didn’t find it,” he admitted. “Someone brought me here. Walk around the lake with me?”

“Sure,” Draco said and followed Harry to the path.

“A few months after I ran away I hitched a ride with an older lady,” Harry began. Draco hurried to walk next to him instead of behind him because this sounded a lot like context for today’s secret and he really wanted to find out more about it.

“It was already quite late, so she decided to let me sleep on her sofa. I agreed, not only because a couch sounded much better than some of the other things I had spent the night on until that point but also because I hadn’t been on my own for long and who doesn’t trust a sweet older lady?”

“I take it you didn’t regret trusting her?” Draco asked.

“No, not at all actually. The next morning during breakfast she asked me what I was running away from and I found myself talking about my home life for the first time, well, ever. When I was done she told me I’d always be welcome at her house and then proceeded to first take me shopping for new clothes, my backpack and some other essentials, and then here to have a picnic.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman,” Draco said. “I’d love to meet her.”

Harry’s step faltered for a second and Draco worried he had said the wrong thing.

“That won’t be possible,” Harry said a few seconds later, his voice completely flat. “She died earlier this year.”

Draco winced. He really had managed to find what was maybe the worst thing to say and he didn’t know how to make it right again and if he even could. He wouldn’t blame Harry if he decided he no longer wanted to travel with him.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said because what else was there to say? “I’m sure I would have loved to get to know her.”

Harry gave him a rueful smile. “I’m sure you would have.”

“Do you want to tell me more about her?” Draco asked carefully, afraid he would say the wrong thing again.

“Yes,” Harry said but they walked for a few more yards before he started talking again. “That first morning Valerie also bought me a phone, so she could keep tabs on me because she didn’t like the thought of a child out there on his own, her words not mine, and I refused to move into her spare room. I only agreed to the phone at all because it also allowed me to check on her every once in a while.”

Draco rolled his eyes and saw Harry smile in response in his peripheral vision. That was an expression he liked seeing on Harry’s face a lot more than the completely blank mask he had been wearing earlier.

“The same day, after our lunch picnic, Valerie also dragged me into town again to make sure no one had declared me dead since I ran away and to make herself my new guardian, or at least as much as she could do to reach those goals in one afternoon. I’m still glad I managed to take my birth certificate with me when I ran away because otherwise all that would have been a lot more difficult.”

“So, someone declared you dead while you were basically MIA?” Draco asked.

Harry shook his head. “Thankfully not, no. But all the legal stuff would have been infinitely more complicated without my birth certificate at hand. Even then it took more than two weeks that Valerie insisted I spend at her house, so she could find me at a moment’s notice.

“After all the legal issues had been taken care of Valerie finally allowed me to leave again but not before I promised to come back at least for Christmas and New Year’s.”

Draco snickered. “She definitely sounds like someone I would get along with very well. I take it you visited for Christmas and New Year’s?”

Harry shot him a rueful smile. “Of course, I did. Every year. I even would have if she hadn’t started calling me every day starting December 1st, so I wouldn’t forget my promise.” Harry sighed. “Damn, I will miss those calls come December, no matter how much I complained about them during the last few years.”

Draco wanted to offer to call him, but he knew he couldn’t substitute Valerie’s calls, no matter how much he tried to, so he thought better of voicing his thoughts to Harry. Instead he just reached out and squeezed Harry’s arm once to try and give him a bit of comfort. Harry’s tentative smile showed him he had at least been a little successful.

 

After Harry had shared a few more anecdotes of the time he had spent with Valerie with Draco and his mood had lifted again, they were back at the small gap in the trees surrounding the lake through which they had entered the clearing. Draco shared a look with Harry and when he didn’t seem inclined to stay, they left the clearing again and went back to Draco’s car. They were already sitting in the car and Draco had just been about to ask Harry where they should go next when he had a different idea.

“Did Valerie have a favourite café or restaurant?” he asked Harry.

Harry looked surprised by the question but then he nodded.

“Would you mind if we went there next?”

Harry shook his head and gave Draco an address in the town they had passed a few minutes before leaving civilized streets to get to the lake.

 

The café was nothing like what Draco had expected but maybe that was because Draco had imagined Valerie at least partially as a stereotypical grandmother despite everything Harry had told him about her. From the outside it looked sleek and almost modern, which Draco could appreciate but didn’t like all that much but when they entered the café he was surprised to see comfortable looking chairs grouped around round and oval wooden tables of different sizes which made the café look homely rather than the sterile look he had expected judging by the exterior. He liked it instantly and decided he approved of Valerie’s taste, at least when it came to cafés.

As soon as they had sat down at a table next to a window, one of the waitresses, an Indian-looking girl about their age, flitted over to them and greeted Harry by name.

“Good afternoon, Parvati. I am well, thank you.”

“That is good to hear. And who is your companion?”

Parvati got a look in her eye that Draco knew from some of his friends when they were on the hunt for gossip. He didn’t like it.

“This is Draco,” Harry said, apparently oblivious to the look. “We’re traveling together.”

“Oh,” Parvati said and the hint of surprise on her face told Draco she knew Harry usually wasn’t one to have a travelling companion. “Is there any specific reason for that?”

Harry shrugged and once again said, “The music is good.”

Apparently satisfied with that answer Parvati left their table again wearing a bright smile.

 

“You’re aware that she’s going to tell everyone about your new _travelling companion_ , right?” Draco asked once Parvati was out of earshot.

Harry shrugged again. “I know. But she would have done it without my input as well. And to be honest, it’s a fair price to pay for cheap but good tea.”

Draco had to smile. He had to admit Harry was most likely right. And because he couldn’t resist a cheesy pun even if he tried, he said, “They really missed out on calling this café Tea for Tea then.”

Harry snorted loudly, and Draco was glad they hadn’t ordered yet or he might be sprayed with green tea now.

“I didn’t take you as someone who would make puns,” Harry said with a smile lingering on his face.

“What can I say? Where you are full of secrets, I am full of surprises.”

“I can see that,” Harry said and then picked up the menu even though he probably already knew what he wanted to order. Draco felt affirmed in his assumption when Harry put it down again after looking through it only once and handed it to Draco.

 

Parvati came back to their table a few minutes later to take their orders, a genuinely friendly smile on her face this time.

Like Draco had suspected, Harry ordered a cup of green tea and only that, so Draco took it upon himself to add two sandwiches to his order as a small lunch for the them. Harry raised one of his eyebrows at his order but didn’t say anything.

When Parvati brought them their orders, Harry continued to stay silent but smiled at Draco when he pushed one of the sandwiches to Harry’s side of the table. Draco smiled back at him and then started eating his salmon sandwich as the walk around the lake had made him quite hungry.

“There’s something I want to ask you, but I don’t know how,” Draco said when he had finished his sandwich.

Harry looked at him for a few seconds and then shrugged. “Just ask. I might not answer but I won’t run away.”

Draco cleared his throat to cover his surprise over how well Harry had read him. “Very well. Why did you decide to show me the lake and tell me about Valerie today? It seems to me like it’s one of your more well-kept secrets.”

Harry took a sip of his tea, probably to give himself more time to think of an answer.

“You’re right,” he said eventually. “It’s not quite as well-kept a secret as my mother’s necklace but that is because people Valerie was close to know about our… friendship, not because I told _my_ friends. And I showed you the lake today because… Telling you felt right, I guess. I don’t really know. It seems like your challenge makes me forget all my principles."

“Uh… sorry?” Draco said.

“No need to apologize,” Harry said and smiled brightly at him. “It seems some principles need to be forgotten about at least occasionally. And to be honest, so far it has always felt weirdly freeing to tell you about my fucked-up life.”

“Glad to be of service.”

 

That night they stayed at the only hotel in town, which was owned by one of Valerie’s friends according to Harry and decorated like Draco had expected the café to be, with a plethora of frills and ruffles, too much pastel pink to be considered tasteful and paintings of cats in every room. Both the pink and the ruffles he could excuse when he laid down on his beyond comfortable bed, but the cat paintings still freaked him out, even, or rather especially, when he switched off the lights to go to sleep. After half an hour of tossing and turning and trying to sleep with his pillow on top of his head, he gave up and got up again. Maybe Harry was still awake as well and they could spend some more time together until Draco was tired enough to ignore the watching eyes of the cats and finally fall asleep.

He got out of bed again and knocked on the door to Harry’s room that was thankfully right next to his, so he only had to pass one creepy cat portrait in the hallway.

“Yes?” Harry said from inside, sounding like he was already close to sleep.

“Hey,” Draco said once he had opened the door wide enough to look into the room. He felt a bit foolish now for letting stupid cats keep him from sleep because apparently Harry would have been able to fall asleep just fine if Draco hadn’t knocked. “I just wanted to see whether you were still up. I can leave if you want to sleep.”

“No, it’s all right,” Harry said and sat up. “Come in.”

Draco did and sat down on the frilly chair standing next to Harry’s bed.

“Can’t sleep?” Harry asked like he already knew the answer.

Draco nodded. “How did you know?”

“Well, for one, you were the one who said he wanted to go to bed early so we could leave this cat hell first thing tomorrow morning.”

Draco snickered. He had forgotten he had phrased it that way when they’d had dinner in a cat-filled dining room.

“Add to that the fact that all the beds in this hotel are beyond comfortable and basically lull you to sleep the second you lie down, the only reason you might still be up is that the creepy cat paintings wouldn’t let you fall asleep.”

“You’re observant,” Draco said. “Right on all counts.”

Harry shrugged. “I kind of have to be.”

Draco winced, feeling like he had said the wrong thing once again. He knew of course that Harry had to be observant to have made it for so long on his own, even with Valerie’s help. He could blame his insensitive observation on his own surprise that Harry had been able to quote his cat hell comment word for word but that would be only an explanation, not an excuse, and Harry deserved an honest apology.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said. He silently hoped having to apologize wouldn’t become a habit, not only because he didn’t like it but also because he didn’t want to do anything that warranted an apology in the first place, especially not to Harry. “I should know that, or rather, I do know that. It just slipped my mind for a second.”

Harry shrugged again. “It’s all right, really,” he said but to Draco it sounded more like _I’m used to getting compliments wrapped in barbed wires_. He knew better than to comment on it further though, so he let it go.

“There are no cat portraits in this room,” he said instead.

When a small smile spread on Harry’s face Draco knew he had found a good thing to say.

“No there aren’t,” Harry confirmed. “It’s actually called Valerie’s Suite and there are none in here because Valerie absolutely despised cats she couldn’t pet which is pretty hard to do with portraits. Dolores only gives it to people who were close to Valerie, hence why I’m here.”

Draco yawned. “I really envy you right now,” he hurried to say before another yawn overtook him.

“You could always sleep here,” Harry said almost casually but Draco could see in his face that it wasn’t an offer he made lightly.

“Okay,” Draco said a little hesitantly. He didn’t want to invade Harry’s privacy even when Harry had basically just invited him to do exactly that. “But where should I sleep? There’s no couch here.”

Harry shot him a mischievous grin. “I hope you’ve read enough books to know exactly where you’ll have to sleep.”

Draco’s eyes widened when he realized what Harry meant. Forced bedsharing was indeed a trope he enjoyed reading about, but he hadn’t expected it to ever happen to him and definitely not because of creepy cat portraits. He wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with Harry in the least, though, so his lips stretched into a teasing smile.

“Do you mean,” Draco said and faked a gasp. “We’ll have to share a _bed_?”

Harry snickered. “That is exactly what I mean. Are you up for it, Draco?”

Draco pretended to think about it for a few seconds. Then he said, “Well, if the choice is between you and creepy cat portraits… I’d choose you any day.”

That startled a laugh out of Harry. “I’m glad I rank above creepy cat portraits in your list of possible roommates. Come here, then.” Harry lay down again and held up the blanket for Draco to join him.

Draco did and because his feet were really fucking cold he pressed them against Harry’s calves, which made Harry shriek.

“Jesus, Draco! Warn a bloke!”

“Harry, I should probably tell you, I have very cold feet,” Draco said in his most innocent voice.

“Prat,” Harry said but didn’t ask Draco to move his feet, so Draco got comfortable next to him and was already dozing when Harry threw an arm around him and pulled him a little closer. Draco’s lips curved into a happy smile that didn’t fade when he finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


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